Hundreds try to storm Parliament House

March 25 2003By Meaghan Shaw, Annabel Crabb,Jamie Berry

Picture: ANDREW TAYLORAnti-war protesters in Canberra yesterday.

Two activists climbed the roof of Parliament House yesterday to drape a rainbow-coloured peace flag over the Australian coat of arms. Their actions came after 400 demonstrators tried to storm Parliament House, with some scuffling with the 60 police and protective service staff barricading the entrance.

The protesters included Aborigines from the nearby tent embassy, carrying smoking branches for a cleansing ceremony. Detective Superintendent Mark Johnsen of ACT Police said the protest was initially peaceful but deteriorated after demonstrators kept feeding the ceremonial fire with green leaves, creating intolerable smoke.

He said a terracotta pot was thrown at police lines and other police were sprayed in the eyes with a type of mist but were not injured. Police were reviewing television footage to identify the offenders. Three people were arrested, including two men who climbed Parliament's grassy slopes to reach the front of the building.

Gareth Smith, 61, said it was the second time he had climbed Parliament's coat of arms - the first was after the East Timor elections.

"Mr Howard, you have exposed us all to increased risk of terrorism and your security is rubbish," he yelled to the crowd below.");document.write("

advertisement

");
}
}
// -->

Mr Smith and his wife, Maxine Caron, were earlier ejected along with more than a dozen protesters from Question Time, drawing criticism from Labor MPs.

Tasmanian backbencher Duncan Kerr reported to the Speaker, Neil Andrew, that a woman attending the peace rally outside Parliament House had been asked to remove her T-shirt, which bore an anti-war slogan. WA backbencher Kym Wilkie also complained, saying members of his staff had been stopped on re-entering Parliament House and stripped of the peace flyers they had collected.

Melbourne Department of Defence employees were prevented from working yesterday as peace protesters picketed Defence Plaza in Bourke Street for four hours. Up to 40 members of the Direct Action Peace Network blocked the plaza's entrances from 7.30am.